Go ahead and embrace the power of the matched set.
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There is a place, tucked quietly into fabric of America, where beautiful sights await you at every turn. To your right, a pack of avid first-wave joggers, all bedecked in coordinating swaths of blue and yellow and brown. To your left, b-boys in bright red. Take a gander behind you, and there they are, a pack of guy who look like they just strolled off the Sopranos set, lounging in black velour. These are the residents of Tracksuit Town ("A nice place to live!"), and you, dear reader, are soon to be among their number. Congratulations.
Adding one more to the Tracksuit Town population count might seem a little daunting at first. I mean, sure, you've worn track jackets and track pants with abandon, but you've worn them separately. Putting them together for maximum tracksuit impact—going Full Tracksuit—is another thing entirely. Are you ready? Of course you are! Are you really going to tell me that after a year spent learning the finer points of all things fleece—and this!—you haven't fully embraced the power of the matching set? I don't believe you. You know what's up. That's why you're here.
So. Here we are. Now's the time. You're pulling up to Tracksuit Town at just the right moment. The weather's warming up, but it's still cool enough to get away with a light jacket and pants at once. And even though the basics will remain the same—you wear the track jacket with the track pants et voila, tracksuit!—options for putting your own spin on things abound. Wear a crisp white T-shirt under your (unzipped) track jacket and finish things off with minimalist white sneakers for an elevated riff on the tracksuited look. Throw a trench coat over everything for a spring-friendly variant of the sweatsuit-and-topcoat combo you know and love. Get some shell toes and a gold chain and lean into the tracksuit's '80s hip-hop heyday. Or invest in velour and look like an even-cooler version of a made man, circa 1996.
As for the tracksuit itself, you can opt for something classic in polyester tricot (arguably the most iconic of tracksuit materials) or a modern version in workout-ready performance fabrics that boast features like four-way stretch. You can even get swish-swishy in one of the lightweight nylon versions also known as shell suits. There's even a glow-in-the-dark version on this list from McQ, sitting alongside other heavy-hitters from Adidas, Nike, Wales Bonner, Puma, Polo, and more. Take your pick. You can't go wrong. After all, you're a resident of Tracksuit Town now.
Adidas Adicolor Classics Primeblue SST Track Jacket
Adidas Adicolor Classics Primeblue SST Track Jacket
Now 60% Off
The Adidas Superstar tracksuit is the ne plus ultra of tracksuits, and there's no better color for it than good old black (with white stripes, naturally). This is the kind of tracksuit that'd look good on Run D.M.C., an Italian shipping magnate lounging on the Riviera, or a young footballer downing a pint of Stella at the pub. It's got the range. And you can be damn sure it'll look good on you, too.
Adidas Adicolor Classics Primeblue SST Track Pants
Another contender for the tracksuit throne, Puma's T7 track jacket and pants have "iconic"right there in the name. With clean lines, simple branding,a funnel neck, and cuffed hems, the T7 tracksuit cuts a sleek silhouette. Plus, the fabric is made from 59 percent recycled polyester. It's like the Puma tracksuits that reigned supreme in the '80s, but even better.
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Everlane's a relatively new brand in general, and its tracksuit is even newer; it just released last month. So, no, you're not going to find any archival shots of b-boys posing in tracksuits with Everlane "E" logos tucked into the corners of their jackets.What youwill find, if you get one of the brand's tracksuits for yourself, is a supremely comfortable matched set made from moisture-wicking, quick-drying, four-way stretch nylon that you can actually work out in(if you're into that sort of thing).
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Does Nike make a tracksuit that enviably blends the best of the old-school styles with just the right amount of modernity?Do you even have to ask? The Swoosh delivers a perfectly 2021 take on the tracksuit with this green jacket-and-pants combo, which features a couple logo hits, contrast zips, and interesting paneling, sans any additional stripes or ornamentation.
Polo Ralph Lauren Cotton Interlock Track Jacket
Polo Ralph Lauren Cotton Interlock Track Jacket
For some guys, the Polo pony is the only logo that matters. This tracksuit—made from super-soft-but-still-sturdy cotton interlock—is the tracksuit for them. Slim. Streamlined. Perfect.
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Polo Ralph Lauren Cotton Interlock Track Pant
Polo Ralph Lauren Cotton Interlock Track Pant
Remember way back when, in 1986, when Michael Jordan appeared on Late Night With David Letterman wearing that infamous red-and-blue tracksuit?Think of this as the spiritual—but thankfully not aesthetic—successor to that suit. This time around, it's futuristic in all the right ways, pairing orange and black with hits of yellow in lightweight nylon ripstop and finishing things off with convertible (!) track pants.
Jordan 23 Engineered Convertible Track Pants
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Fred Perry x Nicholas Daley Tartan Track Jacket
What happens when a standby of the UK tracksuit scene teams up with one of London's most exciting young design talents?Tartan galore, plus circular zipper pulls, and the general "coolest guy in the room" vibe that suffuses this collaborative track suit.
Fred Perry x Nicholas Daley Tartan Taped Track Pant
Fred Perry x Nicholas Daley Tartan Taped Track Pant
Leave it to Todd Snyder to take the tracksuit and distill it down to something slick, simple, and supremely wearable—andthen go you one better and do the whole thing up in an Italian cotton/polyester blend that makes his take on the stylefeel that much more special.
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The '70s had their fair share of dark moments, but the ascent of the tracksuit sure wasn't one of them. Grace Wales Bonner, the London-based designer who's made the style a staple of her mainline collection(more on that later), teamed up with Adidas to offer up her take on the tracksuits of the era. The jacket is cropped, the collar stands high (or folds over quite elegantly), and the trousers are equipped with built-in stirrups. Plus, it's pink.Very pink. Put all that together and you could have a disaster. But in this team's very capable hands, the result is downright covetable.
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Needles Butterfly Embroidered Velour Track Hoodie
Needles Butterfly Embroidered Velour Track Hoodie
Over the last few years, Needles tracksuits—cut from either smooth polyester or plush velour, like this one you see here—have become bona fide grails for an ever-widening circle of fans. In either jacket-and-pants or hoodie-and-pants combinations, they comecomplete with extra-wide, extra-bold side stripes and a butterfly embroidery inspired by Steve McQueen's chest tattoo inPapillon.
Needles Butterfly Embroidered Velour Track Pants
